History of Slytherin
Chaper Two: Catheryn's Death
Salazar's mother is murdered at the hands of a mob (1008) — Niche Eenhoorn
It is a known fact that non-magical folk rejected everything that had to do with magic. They found it unexplainable, frightening and since it could not be explained, it had to be related to the Devil. Thus, they tried to stay away from it and to exterminate it at all costs.
Burning, stoning and killing people considered to be witches or wizards were not an uncommon activity during those days. In fact, it seems to have been something akin to a national sport in some areas. The Slytherin family was not exempt from these incidents. Written sources indicate that the summer of 1008 was cold, wet and punctuated with storms; furthermore the winter of 1008 was extremely cold in comparison to the previous winters. This can be evinced from this extract from the volumes of corn harvested in the years 1005-1010 in King's Lynn.
- 1005 53 barrels
- 1006 35 barrels
- 1007 28 barrels
- 1008 10 barrels (2 barrels stolen by me — big profit)
- 1009 54 barrels
- 1010 62 barrels (2 barrels stolen by me)
It is of note that the two years preceding 1008 suffered from poor harvests as well. Tree ring data also indicate a temperature three degrees cooler than average in 1008.
The river Cam near Hatlepenham froze over as early as Nov 21, and thus it is believed that it was during that year that Catheryn Claennidon was spotted by several muggles as she conjured up a fire to keep her two-year-old son warm during that particularly harsh winter.
Word spread around the village that Catheryn was a witch and the story became more distorted as people told it all over again repeatedly, each one adding a little something to the story until the final version was something on the lines of Catheryn dancing without clothing under the moonlight, chanting unholy songs and summoning a demon, who was the one who started the fire that kept Salazar warm. However, a well preserved written confession made in 1014 by an agonised and guilt-stricken muggle, Wethsat Crauton, revealed that he had been a witness of the aforementioned event. His account states that "[Catheryn] was holding a stick in one hand and was carrying a small boy with the other arm [...] she spoke a word to the air and there was a fire where there had been total darkness. I admit that I did not see a demon and she was fully clothed."
The muggles had believed the most farfetched tale, though, and decided to take matters into their own hands and get rid of yet another indecent, unholy witch. An old manuscript by one of the muggles who was there mentions the following; "It was not too late at night when we arrived there. Catheryn, the witch, was trying to comfort the crying boy and the stick in her hand shone like a rainbow, and began to spit things at us — it is hard to describe. [...] We started throwing stones at her. Those who didn't have stones were using sticks and clubs. She begged for mercy but we didn't stop. The boy was screaming as if he could feel his mother's pain and someone had to take him away. It was all over soon."
Catheryn had been killed by an angry mob, and as much as they also wanted to lynch Sylnormod and his son, neither the husband nor the child had ever been spotted doing anything remotely magical, and so the townsfolk left them alone, while still keeping a close eye on Sylnormod and Salazar.
We know that Sylnormod was devastated to find his wife lifeless. There is a church record about this, for Sylnormod still wanted to give a decent, yet modest, funeral to his wife. The record mentions, "He was away taking care of the field. Upon his arrival, he found his wife battered and dead, while his young son cried over his mother's body. I [the priest] performed the funeral ritual. Only the husband and the son were there. It is not every day that one sees a man like Slytherin crying."
Later records allow us to see that Sylnormod blamed Salazar for Catheryn's death. The historian wizard Rafaello Compucci wrote, "All those who are parents of a magical child know that strange things happen when these kind of children are still young and untrained. It is possible that Sylnormod Slytherin had already spotted a few strange and unexplainable incidents occurring when his son felt sad, angry or anxious, still unaware of his own powers and unable to control them. Most likely, he associated these happenings with witchcraft, but Sylnormod never mentioned anything so as to prevent any more distress and pain to the already miserable family. It is also possible that since Sylnormod was undoubtedly drinking heavily in order to drown his sorrows over Catheryn's death, he may have simply attributed these events to the beer he drank."
Sylnormod did not know his wife was a witch and since unusual things still happened while Salazar was around, Sylnormod blamed Catheryn's tragic death on him, and reminded the child of it as often as possible. A letter from Salazar to his teacher Deogol (year 1029) states, "Sometimes I can still hear his voice saying over and over again in a drunken rage, 'It was because of you, demon! You took her away from me!'"
The unusually cold weather did not ripen Sylnormod's crops, and his harvest was poor. He was forced to borrow money. He incurred huge debts, and at some point he was forced to beg for something to eat, for he did not have enough means to sustain himself and Salazar. The local priest made records of all the times when Sylnormod came asking for something to eat, although, "the poor child does not seem to get food at all. He is paler and scrawnier than other boys, not to mention that he always seems to have a fresh bruise or two on new parts of his body. I might just have to tell someone about this, but that can wait until I finish this new and hilarious dirty limerick." (Church record, 1008)
Once Salazar was old enough, Sylnormod sent the boy to do the begging.
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